Unleash your inner swordsman as you feast your eyes on this stunning faux trailer from writer/director/producer Okabe Junya of the Brave Storm super robot film. Those who are fans of Japan's unique offerings from the tokusatsu subgenre, both classic and current, may have something to smile about as the cast cracks their knuckles for this action-packed short with a surprise guest we didn't see coming.
Yamamoto Chihiro shows her prowess in the current Ultraman Geed TV series, as the sword-wielding badass Toba Laiha. Now, she fights for her life against a crew of vicious assassins. Meanwhile, the classic film hero Zatoichi is brought to life once more with the spellbinding performance of 1984's Kamen Rider ZX himself, Sugata Shun. The blind swordsman faces off with several terrifying nin...

Here's a new promotional video for Pacific Rim: Uprising, the sequel to the original post-apocalyptic monster movie where humanity must fight off extinction with the enormous war machines known as Jaegers. John Boyega of Star Wars: The Last Jedi leads the cast of world-saving pilots, but one actor that was curiously left out of much of the movie's footage shown so far was Rinko Kikuchi, whose integral character had been a welcome presence in the first Pacific Rim and whose absence was sorely felt by this viewer when the sequel began rolling out promo for its 2018 release.
Right off the bat, director Steven S. DeKnight (Marvel's Daredevil series), who takes the reigns from creative maestro Guillermo Del Toro (The Shape of Water) for this entry, namechecks some of the godfathers of toku...

As the current tokusatsu series Ultraman Geed stomps closer to its titanic climax, the giant hero franchise looks to fill the void by returning another of its ilk to television screens with Ultraman Orb: The Chronicle. The star of 2016's Ultraman Orb, Kurenai Gai was an alien wanderer who seemed to joyfully stumble about the cosmos running into danger wherever it may be, ready to take on the giant monsters that inevitably threaten innocents in every corner of the vast Ultraman multiverse. Now, fans new and old have the chance to see his journey through new eyes, with this series.
Before the uninitiated get too excited, let's establish right now that this is not likely to be a series featuring new stories for the character. Like Ultraman Zero: The Chronicle, which aired in the first ha...

In news that prompted a collective sigh of relief across the worldwide fan community this week, Tsuburaya Productions scored a major victory in its ongoing legal conflict with Thai company Chaiyo Productions as a jury ruled against Chaiyo collaborator UM Corporation over licensing rights to the popular Ultraman superhero franchise.
A ruling years in the making, this marks one of several instances in an escalating battle the Ultraman creators and sole original owners at Tsuburaya have been fighting for decades, dating as far back as 1996. As previously stated, Chaiyo Productions head Sompote Saengduenchai claimed a relative of Ultraman creator Eiji Tsuburaya had signed a legal document bestowing licensing rights for the Ultra brand beyond Japanese shores to him, though this was widely ...

Well, here we are. At the moment many of us have been waiting several weeks for: When the identity of the new hero of the Kamen Rider Build TV series is finally revealed. Of course, everybody and their momma had already figured it out ages ago, and it's doubtful the show was even trying to keep it a big secret this whole time. But for those of us who have been loving the show so far, and watching the quick but steady growth of Ryuuga as a character, coming into his own as a freedom fighter in this upside-down world our protagonists are living in, it's been something to look forward to. And the moment of truth definitely does not disappoint. Let's dive into the eleventh episode of this stellar series as I continue to wonder if they can possibly sustain this level of quality throughout at ...

Fan films are tricksy. Especially those based upon anime properties, which themselves come with a style and a vibe that seems near impossible to replicate without sacrificing something that makes the original great. And yet, those of us who love these titles, who have the passion to express that adoration creatively, keep persisting. With this in mind, we dive into Dragon Ball Z: Light of Hope, the new fan film release that dropped this week to a crowd of eager viewers.
Based upon the wildly popular Dragonball franchise, its genesis in the manga series from famed creator Akira Toriyama, which then went on to become one of the most widely-known Japanese animated titles in the medium's history, with several sequels and countless films and specials. Light of Hope takes is cues from The H...

Fullmetal Alchemist, the story that refuses to die, will not stop until it's inhabited every entertainment medium known to man, twice. Inspired by the original manga from Arakawa Hiromu, the journey of two brothers in a fantastical world has been chronicled multiple times in animated form, to rapturous praise by many, and critical side-eyes by a few. We imagine the same will be the case when their latest incarnation, in the form of this new live-action film, comes to the big screen this December.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9NRt4keIZZk
I haven't seen more than a few episodes of the anime years ago (shut up, I know) but, at the very least, the film looks visually striking. The effects work is far beyond what I'd expected to see, and the scenery and costumes are all lovely. Apparentl...

The war for the Iron Throne just got a little more epic, with this fun opening credits sequence from French Youtuber Malec. Inspired by the wildly popular fantasy drama series Game of Thrones, this interprets the battle to save Westeros, and the many dramatic turns it takes, in a fashion only Japanese animation can deliver. Or at least something like it. Check out the fan-made opening credits sequence here, but newcomers be warned. There be spoilers in these waters.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=efD3nmwF-IM
I love that the music, while evoking the typical sound of classic anime openers, also adopts the style of the actual Game of Thrones theme, one of the most iconic of its kind. Interspersing Japanese lyrics with seemingly random English adds the perfect touch. Particularly the phra...

Guillermo Del Toro's giant monster mash Pacific Rim is the little movie franchise that could, still trucking after unfavorable returns in the domestic box office a few years ago. But stronger international support gives the super-robot actioner a new lease on life with director Steven S. DeKnight's Pacific Rim: Uprising. Let's check out the trailer and hope this opportunity hasn't been wasted.
When word came down that Del Toro would get another chance to pit titanic Jaegers against city-stomping Kaiju, his passionate fanbase let out a sigh of relief, quickly turning to caution as it was announced that the monster maestro would not be returning to the director's chair for this project. Instead, we have DeKnight of TV's Spartacus and Daredevil taking the reigns. Let's ponder the results...

It is reported that a live-action Astro Boy film is currently in works via Warner Bros.' New Line Cinema subsidiary.
San Andreas' Andre Fabrizio and Jeremy Passmore will write the script while Animal Logic Entertainment, Ranger 7 Films, and Tezuka Productions will produce the film. The film is aimed to become a four-quadrant adventure movie.
Based on Osamu Tezuka's popular Astro Boy manga, the series was adapted into multiple anime series, an animated film by Imagi Animation, and once had a live-action TV series, which ran from March 7, 1959 to May 28, 1960.
The original manga series is about Astro, a robot created by a scientist to replace his dead son. As time went on and realized that he will not grow up, he abandoned Astro and eventually, under Dr. Elefun, he fights evil with h...